


Rose

by NebraskaWildfire



Series: Rose of Cimarron [1]
Category: Alias Smith and Jones
Genre: childhood days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-16 11:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21507172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NebraskaWildfire/pseuds/NebraskaWildfire
Summary: The boys make friends.
Series: Rose of Cimarron [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550212
Kudos: 6





	Rose

The grasses seemed to go beyond the horizon, with the wind gently ruffling them like waves on the sea. She remembered the sea from when she was small, before they moved from New Jersey to Indiana.

Now with this last move, she felt like she was again surrounded by the sea.

“Papa, are there no trees in Kansas?” Rose asked her father as they approached the small town where they were going to run the mercantile.

“Not many, sweetheart,” her father replied, but then smiled. “But that’s just another thing we can sell.”

She looked at her father like the bright sun had affected his brain. “You can sell trees?”

He nodded firmly. “Yes.”

There had been a few trees planted in the shade of the handful of clapboard buildings that made up the town. There was one in front of the school in which she soon found herself.

“Boys and girls,” the young, fresh faced teacher rapped on her desk to get their attention. “We have two new students who have joined us today.” She smiled winningly at Rose, and her brother Thom, but Rose knew how friendly, or not, children could be to new playmates. When they had moved to Indiana, she had gotten into a fight with an older boy who had been picking on Thom. She looked down at her younger brother. He was a slight youth, a couple years younger than she was, but half her size. It made him a prime target for ridicule.

Her size made her another target. She did not think she was ugly. She had just inherited her father’s solid build, whereas Thom had inherited her mother’s fey build. Rose sometimes wondered if God had a sense of humor.

“Say, hello, Rose and Thom, boys and girls,” Miss Morrison requested, and the children responded, some friendly, which encouraged Rose, but some reluctantly, which just made her sigh.

“Tell the other children from where you have moved,” the teacher asked.

“We’re from Indiana,” Rose replied. “This last time.”

“Why don’t ya let your brother answer?” a bigger boy in the back sniggered. “Boys should be doin’ the talkin’. Not girls.”

“Now, Horace,” Miss Morrison frowned. “Remember to be polite.”

“She’s older than her brother,” a dark haired boy behind her replied. He glanced at a younger, slighter blonde boy sitting next to him. “Probably just lookin’ out for him.”

“Like you do so well for Jed?” Horace laughed again. “Elephant boy?”

The dark haired boy’s face contorted with suppressed anger, but he said nothing. It was then that she noticed he had cuts on his knuckles, and the blonde had a bruise on his face.

“Now, children,” Miss Morrison’s voice raised. “Any more comments and you will stand in the corner.”

Even Horace quieted at this point and the teacher started their lessons for the day.

“You don’t always have to protect me, Rosie,” Thom said quietly, as they followed the others outside to find a shady spot for lunch. “Pa would be mad if you got in a fight again.”

Rose noticed that some of the big boys, and the pretty, slender girls had already taken most of the spots in the shade of the single tree. She sighed.

“There’s shade around the back,” she heard from behind her. She turned and saw the slight blonde and his older friend. His smile lit up his face. “Wanna come sit with us?”

Thom returned the smile and nodded. Rose met the dark eyes of the older boy. He shrugged, saying, “Come on before the others notice.” He started to trudge around the building.

“My name is Jed,” the blonde offered, as they sat in the deep shade of the building and started to pull out their lunches. A breeze came up off the fields.

“I guess you know my name is Thom, and this here’s my sister, Rosie,” Thom smiled again before he bit into the ham and bread he had for lunch.

“Rosie, huh?” the dark haired boy smirked.

“Yeah,” she looked fiercely at him, realizing that she was still bigger than he was, even if he might have been older. “It’s my name. What’s yours?”

The boy flushed, and looked down, dawdling with his bread.

“He’s Han,” Jed offered. He had already finished his sandwich and was starting on an apple.

“Why did the mean boy call you elephant boy then?” Thom said with a full mouth.

“Thom, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Rose admonished. “Ma wouldn’t like it."

Thom blushed a bit, but then just nodded, resigned.

“It’s alright,” Jed said quietly to Thom. “Han tries to tell me what to do all the time too.”

“Do not,” Han replied sharply, with his mouth finally full of some of the sandwich.

Thom looked slyly over at Rose, to see her reaction.

“Is it because of the Carthaginian elephants?” she asked.

Han looked at Rose, an interesting emotion dawning on his face. “Yes.”

Rose nodded as she finished the first half of her sandwich. She held out the other half, as she reached for her apple. “Anyone want this?”

Thom and Han shook their heads, but Jed, looking first at Han, replied. “If’n you don’t want it.” His eyes grew large as they feasted on the offered sandwich.

“Jed’s always hungry,” Han offered, as Rose shrugged and handed the sandwich to the blonde boy.

“Why’s he stay so small, then?” Thom asked. Rose shushed him, but he replied, “I was just wondering.”

Han shook his head and smiled at the younger boy. “Me too, Thom, but I figure he’s saving up for later. When he gets to be a man, he’ll be tall and strong.”

Jed smiled, Tom nodded, and Rose and Han looked at each other, coming to an agreement.

It was two weeks later that Rose came home with scraped knuckles.

She and Thom always had to hurry home after school, to help in the mercantile. Rose tried to sneak into the stockroom, before her parents would notice. Her father was busy with Mr. Peterson, one of the farmers who had come into town, but unfortunately for Rose, her mother had been waiting for them to arrive from school.

“Oh, Rosie,” her mother examined her bloody hands. “Did you get into a fight at school, already?” She herded her daughter up to their rooms and started to clean the cuts.

Rose just nodded, kept her head bowed, and her eyes on the floor. 

“Whatever are we going to do with you?” Her mother tisked. “Someday you will have to let Thom fight his own battles. And you need to learn that boys don’t like girls who can beat them in a fight.”

Rose’s lips pulled into a thin line, but she said little.

“There, all better, I guess.” Her mother looked over to a steaming pot on the stove. “Do you think you can still reorganize the seed section?

Rose nodded and hurried down to the quiet of the stockroom.

At dinner that night, Rose’s father looked at her scraped knuckles. “Your mother told me you got into another fight. Rosie, I thought we talked about this before. It’s a new school. This won’t help the children like you.” He turned to Thom. “Were you being teased again? You need to learn to stand up for yourself.”

“The fight wasn’t about me,” Thom replied quietly, trying to hide the bruise on his hand.

“Then how did you get hurt?” his mother asked.

“Helping Rosie. And Han and Jed.”

Rose glared at her brother.

“Who are Han and Jed?” their father asked.

“They are nice boys at school,” Thom replied, smiling.

“Nice boys don’t get in fights,” Ma replied, and gave Rose a stern look. “And definitely not nice girls.”

“But there were four boys trying to hurt Jed! Han couldn’t fight them all off,” Thom exclaimed.

“You fought four boys?” Pa asked, looking at Rose, surprised.

She shook her head. “Nah, Han had one of them licked before I got there. I only had to take out Horace. He was holding Han down on the ground.” She looked down for a moment and continued quietly. “I’m bigger than even Han, so I thought I could help.”

“Who are these boys?” Pa asked. “What family are they from?”

“It’s Jed Curry and Han Heyes,” Thom replied. “I helped too! I helped get one of the boys off Jed.”

Their parents exchanged looks. “Oh, the Currys. And Preacher Heyes.”

“Maybe you should try to stay out of their fights.”

“But it was four against two, and Jed’s littler than even me!” Thom exclaimed.

“Well,” Ma started, looking over at Pa.

“Their parents are involved in some of the … unsettling … actions here about,” Pa tried to explain, without saying more.

“But they are nice to us!” Thom rebutted.

“This is serious,” Pa had a stern look on his face. “You need to stay away from those boys.”

The next day at lunch Rose headed around back, as had become their routine.

“But Pa said,” Thom started.

“Ma and Pa are busy,” Rose stated. “Don’t need to bother them none.” She looked seriously at Thom. “And we’ll get beat up ourselves, if we try to sit with those pretty ones under the tree.”

Han and Jed were already seated in the shade and had started to get their lunch out of their tin pails. Jed and Thom started to prattle on, comparing lunches, but Han was silent today. He glanced up at Rose once, but then fiddled with his sandwich, not really eating.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Rose asked, between bites.

Han started to shake his head, but then met her eyes. “You never asked what the fight was about yesterday.”

Rose shrugged and continued to eat her sandwich. She swallowed. “Didn’t matter as much as keeping Jed and Thom from gettin’ hurt.”

Han nodded, but then continued. “Horace wanted me to steal a necklace from your store.”

“Really?” Rose asked, surprised.

“I’m … uh, kind of good at, well, pickin’ up things.” Han almost blushed.

“Like putting that snake in Amy’s desk?” Rosie thought for a moment. “Or dealin’ cards?” Han always had a deck of cards with him and showed them a new trick almost every day.

Han nodded. “He said he’d beat up Jed if I didn’t.”

“Guess he was right,” Rose nodded sagely. “Hopefully Jed didn’t get hurt too much.”

“Well,” Han paused. “Since you all helped us from gettin’ beat up so bad, Horace thinks I still need to get that necklace.”

“Which one?” Rose was curious.

“The one with the green stone.”

“In the case?” Rose was surprised.

Han nodded. “I saw it when I was in the store with my Pa.” He paused. “I know how I could do it.”

Rose looked at him sharply.

“But I wouldn’t.” He laughed a bit sharply. “Besides being wrong, it would just get me in trouble.”

“Han, you ever out of trouble?” Rose asked, almost smiling.

Han’s dimples came out in full as he smiled widely. “What about you?”

Rose did smile then, but shook her head. “What you gonna do?”

Han shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’m working on a plan.”

It was later in the week that Han and Jed showed up at the mercantile after school.

“My ma would like a spool of green thread,” Han smiled up at Rose’s mother.

“Like this one here,” she held out a spool of bright thread. She was watching Jed closely, as he eyed the candies.

“No, she said she wants a pale green, a light green.” Han paused and cleared his throat. “She’s sewing for, um, another little one.” He then smiled up at her, wide enough to have his dimples show.

She harrumphed. “Well, those lighter ones are back in the storeroom.” She turned towards Rose.

“My hands are dirty from sorting nuts and bolts, Ma.” Rose held up her hands and they certainly were not clean.

Her mother eyed Han and Jed again, but just said, “Watch the counter then, Rosie. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as she was out of sight, Han slipped behind the counter, and snatched up the box with the emerald necklace. “I’ll give him the box, but palm the necklace out of it. Then he’ll think he lost it. Then I can bring back the necklace.” He hurried back in front of the counter, as he hear Rose’s mother returning.

“I’m not certain that’s a good plan, Han,” Rose whispered, but as her mother was already at the register ringing up the thread, she had no choice but to go along with one of many Hannibal Heyes’ plans.

It was at supper that night that it all fell apart.

“Your Ma tells me that those boys were in after school today, from the Curry and Heyes families.” Pa did not look happy.

Rose looked from him to Ma. She looked even less happy.

“Han had just come in to buy the thread for his ma.” Rose started to get nervous.

“And I had asked you to watch the counter, Rose Violet,” her ma said sternly.

“Your mother tells me she noticed the emerald necklace from the case is now gone.” Her pa was starting to look angry. 

“Han wouldna taken it!” Thom insisted, and turned towards his sister. “Tell ‘em, Rosie.”

Rose started to say no, but then hesitated.

“He did, didn’t he?” her mother almost yelled. “I know those free soil / Free-Staters are just trouble.” 

“No, it’s not like that,” Rose tried to explain.

“Go to your room, young woman,” her pa ordered.

“But Pa, let me explain,” Rose started again.

“NOW!” Pa yelled.

Rose nodded and hurried away from the table, not wanting her parents to see the start of her tears.

“Han would not …” Thom tried.

“I do not want to hear any more about those bad boys,” Ma exclaimed.

“But they are not bad,” Thom started again.

“Thomas, you go to bed too!” Pa used as harsh of a voice as he ever had with little Thom and the young boy started to freely cry.

“I’m certain Thomas wasn’t involved,” Ma stated emphatically, trying to catch Thom as he hurried by to join his sister, but failing as he ran crying.

The whole story came out when Joshua Heyes hauled young Hannibal into the store the next morning before school started. The boys had been very secretive the prior evening, and if Joshua Heyes knew anything about his son after 10 years, he knew to watch him when he was quiet.

“Hannibal assures me that his cousin, Jedediah, was only involved, as so much as he was Horace Johnson’s intended victim. However, I’ve discussed this with my brother-in-law, Mr. Curry, and we agree that both boys should suffer whatever punishment you deem sufficient.” Preacher Heyes had already handed the necklace back to Rose and Thom’s parents. He took a deep breath. “I know the boys have been mischievous in the past, but they have never done something this serious. I want them to know they should never do this again.”

Rose’s father seemed a bit nonplussed. He had obviously not expected such swift justice and not at his instigation.

“Well, no need to get the law involved,” he started.

Rose almost jumped out of her hiding spot on the stairs at this point, but she saw Han shake his head slightly.

“That is up to you,” Joshua Heyes agreed, a bit stiffly.

“Well,” Rose’s father looked down at Hannibal Heyes. “We have a stockroom that still needs to be reorganized from the last owner. 

“Yes, Mr. Simons was known for not being able to find anything easily in there,” Joshua Heyes smiled slightly for the first time since he arrived, but then continued. “Are you certain you want to trust the boys in there?” he said honestly.

Rose’s father nodded firmly. “It’ll teach them not to succumb to temptation, if they are really good boys. If not, then we might need to talk to the Sheriff.”

Joshua Heyes nodded and turned to look Hannibal in the eye. “Do you hear that Hannibal Thaddeus? You will be good or you’ll end up in jail. You don’t want that, do you?”

“No, sir,” Han said quietly, but firmly.

Over the next several weeks, laughter and giggles could often be heard from the stockroom, but whenever one of Rose and Thom’s parents entered to scold them, Hannibal Heyes would show them the next newly organized section that they had completed. He would then show them how easily it was to find things in that area.

He had kept the younger boys busy sorting and moving smaller items, while he and Rose moved most of the heavier pieces of stock. Only occasionally, did he send Rose out to ask her father to come help, and it was only if he could not figure out some way to move the larger pieces, with leverage or a rolling cart they kept in the stockroom.

Rose’s mom would occasionally peek in while they were working. She soon noticed that the laughter was a result of the entertaining stories Han was telling, to keep the other children from getting bored from all the hard work. She would just shake her head, and return to the mercantile floor, wondering where such a gift of gab would take Hannibal Heyes in the future.

It was a month after the mercantile stockroom was fully organized that the raiders came. 

The boys had continued to help out whenever a shipment came to the store. They would help unload and Han would direct the other children where to put the new merchandize. Rose’s father would give them fifty cents, a piece of candy, which Jed seemed to appreciate more than the money, and send them on home to do their chores.

This day, there was a large wagonload of new items to organize and haul, so it was almost supper time before they were all finished and Han and Jed took a minute to sit on the front porch of the mercantile with Rose and Thom, enjoying their licorice whips and horehound drops.

The sun had just started touching the horizon, bathing them in red light.

“Ma and Pa will be mad that we aren’t home yet,” Jed reminded Han, who was discussing that day’s mathematics problems with Rose.

It was then that riders came barreling down the main street of town, torches blazing, melding into the glow of the setting sun.

They stopped before the saloon, which was just down the street from the mercantile. Rose and Thom’s mother had rushed out trying to pull the children into the store, but not having much luck against the lure of the burning flames.

“Take heed!” the leader yelled into the gathering night. “This is how we deal with interfering Free State scum!” They took off, again at high speed, to the east.

“But we can’t keep them, Martha!” Rose’s father was arguing with her mother. It was late at night but Rose was still awake and listening. She was supposed to be sleeping, but could hear her parents arguing down the hall in their bedroom. Thom and Jed were in the bedroom they had been sharing and Han was supposed to be on the settee in the living room. Rose doubted if he was asleep either.

“Those ruffians will just come back and burn the mercantile, if they know the boys are here.”

“But they have nowhere else to go,” Rose’s mother pleaded. “We can’t just send them out to fend for themselves.”

“Remember when Han stole the necklace?” Rose’s father’s voice rumbled.

“But they’ve been so good since,” her mother countered.

“They’re supposed to have relatives back East somewhere still.”

“And who is going to see that they get there?” Martha asked. “They have nothing left. No money. No clothes.”

“I guess God will have to provide,” her father answered.

Rose turned over and cried, not knowing what else to do.

It was two days later that the boys ran away.

Rose heard them as they were rummaging though the kitchen, gathering up a bundle of food. They were trying to be quiet, but she had not been sleeping well. She silently padded to her parents’ room, to insure that the door was closed, before she slowly made her way to the sitting room, where she could hear them shushing each other, as they packed their meager belongings. 

The pastor at the church had taken up a collection of used clothing, so at least they had a change of clothes. With the weather getting cooler, soon they’d need coats, especially if they’d be on their own. Rose grabbed up the coat that was getting too small for Thom. It had enough wear in it yet for Jed, who was still smaller. 

“Here,” she whispered, but still startled them as she came into the room.

“Rosie.” Han took a deep breath. “We’re leaving. Go back to bed.”

“Jed will need this.” She held out the coat until he finally nodded and handed it to his cousin.

They were quiet as they walked down the stairs and stopped before the back door. Rose reached up for the work coat she used when unloading the supply wagons that came to the store. It would be a bit big for Han, but that just meant he probably could use it longer.

“But you will need this when it gets cold.” He tried to push it back in her hands, but she shook her head.

“Not as much as you will.” 

A serious look was exchanged between the friends before they hugged quickly and intensely. Rose turned towards Jed and put her arms around him too, before she could admit that she saw tears in his eyes.

“We’ll always remember how you and Thom were our good friends.” Han turned to put his hand on the door before she could see the glittering in his eyes too.

“You better.”

They all laughed quietly, but after another round of hugs, they boys were gone into the dark of the night. It was then that Rosie sat down and silently let her own tears flow.


End file.
